T510 Always-on USB lost from time to time + occasionally Win7 slow boot.

Hi all,

I've called in for a replacement system board for my T510. It is in back order now, but I'd like to check if my problem is common, and if it's a wise idea to replace the board as I've I can risk getting a refurbished board.

My problem is the always-on powered USB is lost from time to time and windows 7 has very slow boot (>1.5 min) occasionally - usually after some system settings are changed. When that USB port is lost, it usually doesn't come back after reboot. It does often come back after a sustained power-off period though.

Another thing is, a tech rep told me I could be offered a refurbished board to replace my current relatively new (2 months old) board under the warranty, if I opt for replacement. So I'd like to consult you guys if it's a good idea to have it replaced. I don't know if the losing USB port problem is common or software related, which may prompt me not to risk replacing with a refurbished part.

Thanks for your help!

 

They will definitely offer you a refurb. board (common practice).
BTW, did you try reinstalling the OS from scratch with basic drivers? It could be that your board is ok.

 

I didn't try. It does not come up very often, and I prefer not to go through the hassle of resetting everything.

I do have a 250GB HDD shipped with the computer. I upgraded to SSD with a 3rd party intel G2. I can swap it in and try, but the problem is the problem is a little sporadic and I can't control when this problem comes up. It does not happen all the time or often enough.

 

I'd still recommend swapping the drives and testing some more. Maybe it's not a hardware issue and you'll be replacing your good new mobo with a refurbished one for nothing. That would be really frustrating.

 

Have you experimented with System Configuration --> Startup settings? Could one of these be responsible? Most of mine are turned off.

You could also experiment with the USB settings in the BIOS, change the "USB Always On" to Automatic, or something else.

 

@Aikimox My plan is if they do come up with a refurbished board I may drop the support call entirely. If they are shipping a new one for a back ordered item, I'll seriously consider changing it. Plus, I wonder how likely that I'm gonna get a refurbished board for this machine - it's pretty new, only about 2 months after announcement. Having a SSD for a while, I can't bear working in a 5400rpm drive for even a day. I still don't have any reliable way to reproduce it yet.

@mike5065 I tried fiddling with startup to just including my SSD & the ultrabay DVD drive. Sometimes it triggers the slow boot, and sometimes it just go without problem. Not consistent at all. My USB Always On is already in Automatic, and I tried iphone/ipod as well which doesn't seem to trigger anything nor help if slow boot is happening.

 

That's a policy of all companies like Lenovo, Dell and many others. Even for a brand new system the replacement parts are always refurbished. Few parts like GPU/CPU fans may be brand new, but it depends on many factors.
You'll be landing on a refurbished board most likely.

 

@Aikimox That is pretty discouraging. I'll we'll see - the only thing I can do is to wait now.

 

The good news however, is that the whole platform is fairly fresh. So even if your new board is refurbished it is most likely taken from a returned new system and will be as good as new. It's not like the boards are out for a year for the tech department to accumulate a fair number of heavily used ones.
So don't get too discouraged yet.

 

@Aikimox Ha~ Right. These bad and good prospects feel like sticks and carrot to my wishful thinking of getting a brand new replacement board. I wonder if I can tell whether the board is brand new or refurbished anyway. Does the tech know?

 

So with a motherboard is it even all that important? As long as it works right? I haven't seen to many motherboards be the primary cause of laptop death due to age. I understand the reasons for wanting new, just posing the question.

 

@infinus Do you mean why I would want a replacement? That's mostly for losing the USB port from time to time, and Lenovo tech suggests replacing it. For wanting a replacement that is new, however, is more because I feel a little stupid to trade the new board I am having right now for a refurbished board which may not even fix my problem.

 

Right, I meant if a refurbished board does fix your problem. I don't think I'd have an issue with it as long as it worked is what I was getting at. But I know a lot of people are picky about new vs refurbished on a new system (and rightfully so).

 

You can do a very simple thing, let the mobo be replaced but don't let them take your board before you verify that the problem is fixed. It's a normal practice. Tell the tech that you'll send it back in a day or two if everything is fine. If not, they can place yours back and maybe look for a different solution.

Actually, for the last 15 year in IT, the majority of dead notebooks is from the mobo or GPU failures. If it's any other part - it can be easily replaced. CPUs seldom die, the rest is easy to remove and replace.
Motherboards are complex beasts and can die slowly, so that you do not notice it until it's too late. That's why I'd vote against the refurbished ones, but in our case there are no old boards out there yet. The system is fairly fresh.

 

Hmm, don't know that my experiences agree. I've seen failures due to physical damage (hinge failure, screen damage, other physical damage), I've seen failures due to hard drives, and failure due to over heating (fan failure, dust buildup, etc...) but I can't say I've seen to many failures of a motherboard/gpu on a system that isn't due to one of the above items. Whether new or refurbed both are suceptible to over heat and physical abuse (keep in mind I'm also not counting all the T61p failures of GPU's due to manufacturing defects).

Anyways, it's totally understandable for him to want new, not faulting that, but I've not had issues with refurbs assuming there isn't a secondary cause of failure.

 

If we put aside all the secondary factors like dust buildup, dead fans, spilled water etc, -
System board can die in a variety of ways: burned capacitors, low quality solders, bad bumps on the built-in GPU/IGP, etc. Let's say I buy a notebook and stress it for a few months letting the temps go to critically high levels. But the system is still working, then I return it for some reason and you get the mobo from it as a replacement for your machine. It can work for a few months and suddenly die next day past your warranty period.
Why? Because there's no way to easily check what happened with it numerous components. A few capacitors died from my abuse, over-heating resulted in material properties changes of the GPU/IGP shortening their lifespan. You might even be lucky and the system will work a few years, but there will be some issues (minor freezes, DPC lattency problems, BSODs etc). I have seen this too often.
Worst yet that we (IT support) do not check every mobo for those problems. We just put it in a lappy. It works - refurb. Doesn't work - garbage/recycle. The system is simple.
Make your conclusions.

 

@Aikimox @Infinus I think both of you have made very good points. Hinges, fan failures and screen damages are indeed more common place in daily work. However, I think this is also where Aikimox's points come into play too. There are generally more components that can go wrong on a mother board which, unfortunately, do not have as easy a way to spot out in an early stage as compared to screens/hinges/fans. Same goes for CPU/IGU/GPU, which are generally highly complex chips consist of components that can go wrong but are hard to check.

As Infinus puts it, "...not had issues with refurbs assuming there isn't a secondary cause of failure", which makes sense. There seems to be higher risk for a refurb board becoming a secondary cause of failure than a brand new one, provided its usage history is unknown.

I guess it comes down to personal take. Fortunate is that a T510 refurb board, hopefully, should not be too much different from a new one as there are hardly much time for the previous users to abuse it yet.

 

That's a perfect summary, lkpcampion.

 

I hope I get both of your comments right. I really appreciate for these useful notes. I think I'll wait for the one to come in, keep the old one as Aikimox suggests and monitor how it works. If it turns out more stable without any hiccup and even the USB port loss, I think I have no problem trading out the original one even the replacement may be refurbished.

 

The other thing to consider is that you have a lot of warranty time left to figure out if you get a good board or not (regardless if it's new or refurbed). Keep in mind that even new boards can have their issues. That's kind of why I don't mind a refurb. I figure it's kind of a crap shoot either way.

Rep's for a good convo

 

Yup. I got the basic 1-year and upgraded it to on-site for the first year. My credit card is going to give me another year depot. The best thing is I have a Lenovo certified repair shop in my institute, so they can order the part and I will walk to a nearby building to repair even if I am on depot.

Very true that new boards and refurb boards can have issues of their own. I only have to test it once it comes.

Got a call from technician this morning. The part may be coming in.